Why do people let children use a several hundred dollar device to begin with. In my honest opinion I don't think anyone under the age of 16 should have a smart phone, under 14 for laptops and tablets, and under 10 for music devices like iPod touches. That's just my opinion and that is how the devices were originally made and should be used.

6th grade is when phones became popular in my school. I had an iPod touch at that time but no phone until late 7th grade, and I believe that because of this I missed out on some friendship opportunities.
Our perception of kids is that they are inferior because they are smaller, or don't know as much as we do. However, the vast, vast majority of kids with iDevices do not rack up massive bills. Many kids with iDevices have no restrictions, yet still understand money and the responsibility that comes with the ability to spend it. Every once in a while an idiot comes along, but that doesn't mean we should punish the rest. There will always be idiots. I believe a 6th grader is responsible enough to carry an iphone.

My 92 year old neighbor just got his first iPhone. I suppose when he accidentally makes his first in app purchase in what he was lead to believe was a free app I ought to chalk that up to him being a moron, right? Of course he grew up in an age without computers, but nevertheless, that idiot has no right buying a device he doesn't intimately understand, right? After all, that dummy is just like the dad who knew better than to give a child an iPad to play with, right? Yet not everyone is a techie. The iPhone is the smartphone for stupid people, or so they say. It's intuitive enough to pick it up and figure it out, but in no way does that suggest the lay person will understand the intricacies of in app purchases, and the risks thereof, unless someone takes the time to explain it to them. How out of touch with reality are you people who keep laying all the blame on poor parenting? There is a fundamental problem here and it isn't the parents or the passwords. And no, I don't for a second think anyone on this website believes that anyone in their right mind spends $6100 on in app purchases in some random pony app. You honestly think the developer designed the app thinking that was a legitimate possibility that millionaire kids the world over would blow daddy's cash on that nonsense? No! There is only one way this could happen and the article elucidates just that.

They can have my jailbreak when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.

This has nothing to do with stupid parents. This is deceptive marketing by developers at its worst. Apple knows this and Apple should be the one to rectify this. There is no reason a casual game should have options to purchase coin packages for $99, yet there are literally thousands upon thousands of games out there that have this. There are triple A console games for Xbox and PS3 that cost developers over a hundred million dollars to develop and market, yet they never cost more than $60 dollars. How then can these casual pocket games cost so much money to play? These games are designed to scam people out of their money and only by contacting the media is that becoming evident. This unfortunate situation would never have been resolved if this father hadn't gone to the media. If Apple were serious about fixing the situation they would put a lifetime maximum on the amount developers could charge for in-app purchases over the lifetime of a particular app. Users should demand this of Apple and developers. How can you people just sit back and call these people idiots? Do you honestly think having the ability to spend $6100 on a mobile pony game is reasonable? Forget poor parenting and all that jazz, this never should have made it through the appstore approval process in the first place. It's all a scam!

Please explain the following:

1. Why he didn't have enough brains to check his bank statements? This was going on for 5 months.

2. Why did he have the receipts going to an email account that he did not have access to? Not to mention that he didn't have access to his work email for 5 months?? Are you kidding me???

My 92 year old neighbor just got his first iPhone. I suppose when he accidentally makes his first in app purchase in what he was lead to believe was a free app I ought to chalk that up to him being a moron, right? Of course he grew up in an age without computers, but nevertheless, that idiot has no right buying a device he doesn't intimately understand, right? After all, that dummy is just like the dad who knew better than to give a child an iPad to play with, right? Yet not everyone is a techie. The iPhone is the smartphone for stupid people, or so they say. It's intuitive enough to pick it up and figure it out, but in no way does that suggest the lay person will understand the intricacies of in app purchases, and the risks thereof, unless someone takes the time to explain it to them. How out of touch with reality are you people who keep laying all the blame on poor parenting? There is a fundamental problem here and it isn't the parents or the passwords. And no, I don't for a second think anyone on this website believes that anyone in their right mind spends $6100 on in app purchases in some random pony app. You honestly think the developer designed the app thinking that was a legitimate possibility that millionaire kids the world over would blow daddy's cash on that nonsense? No! There is only one way this could happen and the article elucidates just that.

I'm I the only one who thinks that the father might not be telling the whole truth. Over £5000 gone from your account over a period of 5 MONTHS AND HE DIDN'T NOTICE! I'm I the only one who finds that strange... c'mon. It's not like she spent that much in one day. Over a period of 5 months and he was oblivious to it all.

Also, giving an 8 year old an iDevice with a credit card attached is stupid. AT least put some parental locks into place. They are there for a reason. But I guess people make mistakes and sh*t happens. When it happens to someone we'll all take about it like we could do any better. Chances are some of us would do better than this, but you never know.

Just be happy he got this money back. I'm sure he won't be letting her use his phone until she's much older. Apple needs to put some safe measures in place too. Letting an app charge so much for some ****** game is not good at all. To the commenter who thinks anyone under 14 shouldn't be allowed to have a laptop/tablet is really stupid. What you're basically doing is sealing away any potential they might have.

By the time their 14, they'll be too busy playing games, chasing girls, school and such. Introduce them to these technologies early and you increase the chances of them unlocking any potential they have. This is a primitive way of thinking and needs to stop.